Memories & Mayhem
by Epically-ME
Summary: Childhood friends. Most of our fondest memories we gather through life are the ones that remind us of them. The moments of endless laughter, long chats and the amazing as well as not so amazing times spent together. Either way, what we gather from childhood friends we remember forever, and memories are ways to hold on to things you never want to lose. *More details inside*


**_Hello all! Epically-me once again._**

**_ hope you all aren't tired off me just yet. I'v been having a crappy couple of days, and the best way for me to getting away from all the madness is through writing so i hope you will bare with me._**

**_This is going t be a mini series/number of one-shots that will tie in with my story"chalk outlines" (if you haven't read it yet, id very much like you to! although i suppose you don't have to in order to enjoy this.)_**

**_I know its a lot of work for a story that may not be all that popular(yet?) but i thought this would help add better dimension on my charterers._**

**_anyway this will just show the many misadventures of Hiro and Rikku as well as Tadashi's childhood from the time they meet, up to Rikkus untimely departure from San Fransokyo. _**

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><p>The rain poured heavily outside of a mid-sized sedan that was parked on the curb a small duplex. A young girl, no older than four years of age traced her tiny, chubby fingers along the windows of the back seat, painting small smiley faces in the smog left behind by the moisture.<p>

"Daddy, how come I can't just stay at home?" the girl whined, tapping her feet lightly as she stared aimlessly out at the rain.

"Because Rikku," her father said sternly, eyes narrowing slightly in announce as his daughters feet thumped against the back of his own seat. "You're too young to stay home by yourself, and you constantly continue to terrorize the other baby sitters I pick out for you."

The child crossed her arms over her chest, her already rosy cheeks brightening even more. "The last lady wasn't my fault… I was just trying to have some fun," She pouted lightly.

"Yes, well, I don't know how many times I have to tell you that dropping balloons full of paint on unsuspecting women's heads is not considered 'fun'."

"But I was fun… at least for me…" she murmured quietly, too low for anyone to hear.

Little Rikku had gone through many nanny's, baby sitters and caretakers in her short four years of life. The family had, just moved from their apartment downtown to the smaller metro area of San Franskoyo after all, and with her father being rather busy with his new work he often left Rikku in the care of others. Most of the time she never really minded it, however, a lot of the older women were rather boring for her liking. They always wanted her to take naps and or play the 'silent game' just anything that didn't make much noise. But, being the rather rambunctious toddler that she was, that never lasted for very long.

"Now come on, we have to get going so I can get to work." He father pressed.

"B-but dad, I don't even know these people!"

The man rolled his eyes, turning himself slightly to face his young. "You know those friends of mine that I spoke to you about before? Mr. Hamada and Mrs. Hamada?"

She nodded slowly.

"Well, tonight, you're going to be staying with their sons, and Aunt Cass"

Rikku tilted her head to the side, "Are those the people we seen at the really sad party you took me to?" she asked curiously, childish eyes completely oblivious.

The older man's face fell slightly with a mixture of remorse and frustration. It had been roughly six months since his friends and business partner had been laid to rest, and Rikku, despite being too young to really understand, was forced to go to the funeral as well. It wasn't the most obscure idea for a four year old to think a funeral was some kind of horribly sad get together. She was after all only used to dressing up for special occasions, so when her father had forcibly dressed her in something 'presentable', she figured it was in another one of his ceremonies.

"Yes," He said dryly, staring solemnly at the plush carpet of his car, "but it wasn't a party Rikku It was… it was a funeral."

"Oh…" noticing her father's change in demeanor Rikku remained quiet, fiddling silently with her loose, wildly untamed curls. As she pondered on in thought, she had remembered seeing two boys at this funeral her father spoke of. One seemingly her age and the other relatively older; they were dressed in black suits, exchanging between loud cries, and muffled sobs. An older woman, who Rikku guessed must be this Aunt Cass lady, sadly hugged the two children, obviously holding back tears of her own. She never really got the chance to talk to the family, her father not thinking that it wasn't the best time.

"Now come on." Her father commanded sternly, snapping the child out of her thoughts. I'm already running late."

And with that, Rikku's father carefully unhitched the toddler from her car seat, shielding her with his best abilities from the rain and quickly made his way to the front door of a small duplex. After a couple of rushed knocks, a young woman with auburn hair opened the door, her clothes covered in a powdery white substance.

"Oh hey!" she welcomed kindly, though, despite her smile, her facial features showed that she was tired. "Welcome, please come in. Sorry for the mess, me and the boys were just making cookies."

"I'm afraid I cannot stay Cassidy." Rikku's father said quickly, setting the toddler down. "I really must be going, but again, I'd really like to thank you for doing this. I know you have a lot on your plate and trust me if there was any other way I-"

"Its fine Kaden," she interrupted, signaling for him to slow down. "You're an old friend of the family's, and I'd be more than happy to take her." The woman looked down the toddler, who was hiding nervously behind her father's long legs.

"Hey sweetie," she said kindly, her large green eyes shining at the small child. "You can call me Aunt Cass okay? Why don't you come inside where it's warm?"

The girl eyed cautiously at her dad, who gave him a small nod, before she quickly scurried inside. The heat that radiated off the nearby fireplace tickled her skin.

"Again, Cassidy thank-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" she interrupted once again, waving her hand in the man's face. "It's Cass. Just Cass."

Kaden cleared his throat before adjusting his tie around his neck. "Right. My apologies. Well… Cass, I really must go, thanks again for your hospitality and I'll be back around 9:30." The women nodded politely, giving the man a small wave before watching him scramble into his car.

Rikku meanwhile stood in the entrance of the living room. It was much smaller than she was used to, but still a decent sized space nonetheless; Complete with a futon and a couple of end tables (perfect for making blanket forts with!)

"Hey sweetie." The toddler flinched slightly at the sudden voice that sounded behind her and she turned to see the kind woman now known as Aunt Cass. "Why don't you take your coat off and get comfortable?"

Rikku nodded and began taking off her puffy winter jacket, reviling her cat print sweater and jeans with a tutu over them. Aunt Cass giggled at the toddler's appearance. She was just plain adorable! Extremely chubby cheeks and a head full of outrageously curly hair that reminded her so much of her youngest nephews own wild mane. Speaking of which…

"Hiro! Tadashi! Come on out we have a guest!" the older woman called.

"Coming, Aunt Cass!" Moments later two boys came scurrying out of the kitchen, their clothes covered in the same white powdery substance as their aunt. One was young, probably closer to her age; short with chubby cheeks and a head of black hair. While the other was relatively older and much taller than herself; most definitely the boys she seen months before. The girl felt heat on her face, and she waved shyly at the two brothers.

"Hey boys, this here is Rikku she's going to be staying with us for the day," Aunt Cass introduced, placing a kind hand on the child's shoulders. Just then, smoke began flowing from the kitchen and into the living room, causing the obnoxious beeping from the fire alarm. "Why don't you three go play while I make sure our house doesn't burn down mmkay?" she finished quickly before jotting toward the kitchen, faint swears coming from her as she opened the oven doors and sent another cloud of smoke throughout the room.

The oldest boy chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Don't worry, she is actually a really good cook," he said with a gentle smile. "I'm Tadashi by the way and this is my baby brother Hiro." Tadashi pointed over to the child that was hiding behind his tall, thin legs.

"Um, hi…" the boy waved, his big brown eyes looking at her nervously.

"Hey…" she replied, eyes shifting to the ground.

Noticing the two toddlers' nervous behavior, Tadashi took it upon himself to try and change the subject. "Hey, me and Hiro were just about to play a video game. You wanna join?"

Rikku felt herself blush, and she rubbed her arm hesitantly. Being more the finger painting type than anything, she had never played video games before and didn't want them to think she was weird. "Well, um, sure… but I never-"

"Dashiiii no…" The younger boy interrupted, his bottom lip protruding into a pout as he tugged onto his elder brothers khaki pant leg. "She can't play games with us, she's a girl! She could have cooties…"

He turned a suspicious eye at Rikku whose hands were now on her hips, an angry glare of her own aimed at the four year old counterpart. "S'cuse me?" she questioned the child, high amounts of sass in her tone. "I do NOT have cooties!"

"Hiro!" Tadashi exclaimed, rather shocked by his brother's words. True, he was only four, but Tadashi knew Hiro was smart and always figured he was above that childish nonsense. "I'm sorry," the older boy apologized nervously, "he didn't mean that he just-"

"Jus' cuz I'm a girl doesn't mean I have cooties!" she protested, completely ignoring Tadashi's attempt at apology. "Maybe _YOU'RE_ the one who has cooties!"

"Boys can't have cooties!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

God lord not this…

Tadashi sighed heavily, knowing very well that this was going to lead to some kind of toddler rampage. "Guys come on, let's not fight-"

"Take it back!" Rikku's nose flared, and her arms were now crossed her chest. How dare him! Who does this kid think he is anyway?!

"Never!" Hiro protested. He stuck his tongue out at the girl, and quickly turned his back before she could respond.

Wrong move on his part.

"Why you little-!" She growled. And with that, the tutu bearing child tackled the unsuspecting raven haired boy, sending them crashing to the floor. They tumbled around, batting and clawing at each other with their small chubby hands.

"Hiro! Rikku! Come on!" Tadashi face palmed himself as he watched the whole ordeal. As comical as it was, he knew it was his responsibility to put an end to it before the big guns came in. Aka Aunt Cass.

"I. Said. Take. It. Back!" Rikku prided again, taking in a fist full of the boys' shiny black hair. However, Hiro had a counter move, and licked the side of her arm, leaving a trail of slimy drool behind. "Take that you… you… Butthead!" he spewed.

Rikku gasped, completely exasperated by the name call. Her head was certainly not the shape of a butt!

"Hey! Quite you... you…" the girl narrowed her eyes, trying to think of a proper and effective insult. Just then, she realized the boy beneath her had a small space between his teeth.

Insult initiated.

"GAP-TOOTH!" she spat finally. The boy's eyes widened with shock at first, but then narrowed back into slits. He opened his mouth to speak, however Tadashi was having just about enough of this nonsense and separated the two toddlers.

"I said that's enough!" the eldest boy exclaimed as he stepped in and separated the two children.

"She started it!" Hiro whined.

"No! He started it!" Rikku contradicted

Tadashi sighed heavily. He was getting too old for this. Eleven years old and he already felt like gray hairs were starting to surface.

"I don't care who started it, because I'm about to finish it! Now go in the room!"

"But-"

"The. Room." Tadashi stared harshly at the two kids before pointing toward the bedroom in the back. Rikku and Hiro exchanged looks before crossing their arms in unison and sauntering toward said bedroom.

A small giggle was heard, and Tadashi turned to see Aunt Cass beaming at him from the small open frame that looked out from the kitchen and into the living room. "You know I hear the cast for nanny 911 is hiring sweetheart." The woman mused, a cheeky grin plastered on her face. "Put on a dress and practice your British accent you might have a shot."

The eleven year old cleared his throat, blushing at the fact his aunt had been watching the whole ordeal, as well as erasing the thought him being in a show with a bunch of elderly English women from his mind.

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><p>"Okay, so what do we say to each other?"<p>

Silence.

"Rikku. Hiro. Come on now, let's be nice and start over."

Silence.

The elder Hamada had the two toddlers face each other directly. Both their arms were crossed, and they had an equally as frightening looks plastered on their faces. It had been five minutes of this stare down and neither of them would budge on apologizing.

Tadashi had about enough.

"Hiro Hamada if you don't apologize, this instant, I'm taking away your toy robots for a week."

"What?!" Hiro whined, his eyes close to tears. Rikku smiled triumphantly at hearing his much deserved punishment and stuck her tongue out at the boy.

"And you," Tadashi directed his attention to the girl, and she instantly sucked her tongue back into her mouth. "Don't think you're getting out of this so easily. You have to apologize to or I'm telling you dad."

"Aw, what?! Come on don't be a tattle tale!" Rikku bit her lip as his stern gaze never wavered. She had two options here: swallow her pride and say sorry or risk her dad taking away her art stuff again.

The little girl sighed in defeat. "Fine." She drawled, "I'm sorry."

"For?" Tadashi pressed.

Rikku rolled her eyes before shifting he gaze toward the floor. "For attacking you… and pulling your hair… and calling you a gap-tooth…" she finished quickly, each word felt like vinegar as it came out her mouth.

"Very nice Rikku. Now Hiro, it's your turn."

Hiro bit his lip. She better be glad he loved his robot toys so much. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry too."

"For?"

Hiro glared at his brother for a brief moment. He really should have seen that coming. "For saying you have cooties… and licking you… and you know… calling you a Butthead." He said, playing with his thumbs.

"Very good you guys." Tadashi clapped his hand together, feeling rather proud of himself. "Now kiss and make up."

The two children looked at each other with horrified expressions.

"EWWW GROSS!" They yelled in unison, and Tadashi laughed before ruffling his little brother's hair.

"Not literally knuckleheads," he mused. "Just shake hands."

Rikku breathed a sigh of relief. "I… I really am sorry." She said as the boy placed his palm into his.

"Yeah, me too." Hiro gave a nervous smile, once again revealing his space between his teeth. Reiki blushed slightly, it actually was kind of cute…

Not that she would say that out loud though.

"So does this mean we're friends now?" he questioned, his bright eyes shining at her.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed without a moment of hesitation.

Tadashi smiled. It was like all actions of mere minutes ago were completely forgotten that quickly.

Hiro's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he quickly ran across the room to set up his gaming system. "Hey, you wanna play a game?"

Rikku fiddled with her thumbs, suddenly finding the floor a lot more interesting. "I don't really know how to play," she confessed, blush creeping to her face.

"It's okay, I can teach you! I kick Tadashi's butt at it all the time." Hiro flashed his brother a small yet cocky smile, earning a funny face from him.

Rikku placed a hand over her mouth as she tried to suppress a giggle. "Okay, thanks!" she quickly grabbed the remote control that Hiro held out for her and sat cross-legged next to her new companion, clicking the buttons he instructed her to.

Tadashi took a seat on the small beanbag and watched the two play and laugh together, as they raced competitively through the levels of the game.

The elder boy laughed inwardly as he continued to watch the pair. It might have been a rocky start, but he couldn't help but think that this was going to grow to be a beautiful friendship.

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><p><em><strong>Whelp guys i hope you liked this. Not sure how long its going to be, maybe 5-6 chaps tops? <strong>_

_**anyway let me know how you feel about this and if i should even continue. constructed criticism, reviews and any and all feedback is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.**_

_**with love, epic.**_


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